It is conventional to provide a movable control console and steering wheel on an earth moving vehicle such as a motor grader which is movable forward and backward to position the steering wheel relative to the vehicle operator. The adjustment of the control console may be a single pivot connection or a parallelogram linkage as shown in U.S. Pat. No. RE 31,646.
Generally, other types of vehicle controls are mounted on the side of the control console and move with the console. However, various types of vehicles have different position patterns which makes it difficult for an operator to move from one type of vehicle to another without requiring a training or transition period. In fact, many vehicles have rigid types of control connections which prevent the operating pattern of the control levers to be changed or standardized. Furthermore, any forward or backward adjustment of the position of the control console may result in an undesirable change in the positioning of the other controls relative to the operator.
The present invention is generally directed to an adjustable control attachment for use on a earth moving vehicle, with either a movable or a fixed steering console, which can provide a universal or standard position pattern for the control levers so that an operator can easily and safety move from one machine to a different machine with a minimum time required to become skilled, and in which the control pattern can be changed to any desired operating pattern by easily changing the connection of the controls to the main hydraulic control valves or at the control console. In addition, a simple rod assembly rotation is provided to give the best accessibility for the control levers when the console is in either a rearward position with the operator sitting or in a forward position with the operator standing or exiting the vehicle.